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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/micktalian on 2025-10-22 18:49:49+00:00.
Part 146 A cunning primate (Part 1) (Part 145)
Despite what many people may want to believe, the four members of the GCC’s Military Command Grand Council do not actually spend much time in that specific role. Though they all can normally be found onboard the Central GCC Station, the heart of interstellar politics, their advice is rarely required or even requested. Unless a new threat that affects the entire galaxy suddenly emerges, or multiple departments and sub-councils are unable to reach a consensus, their input is simply unnecessary. As such, the representatives of four extant founding species are usually busy with their own internal affairs. With such a large galaxy and only a few thousand star systems that host major population centers, there’s a lot of open space for piracy, slavers, and worse to find places to fester. Even if those four Grand Council members aren’t regularly working with their Military Command counterparts, they are still busy.
Grand Councilmember Zahili Chiktarv, for example, had been reading through a recently publicized list of military equipment available on the galactic market when he received a rather peculiar message. As the Master-General of his species’ collective armed forces, his obligations are rather complex. He was reading over the specifications and requirements for the Nishnabe’s latest update to their BD-series mechanized walkers when he saw the notification and short summary. UHDF Councilmember Mikhail T River and Fleet Admiral Atxika of the First of the Third wanted to schedule a meeting at his earliest convenience. Such a request would usually necessitate an obligatory twenty-four hour delay to keep up appearances. But this one was especially interesting. Despite obfuscating the exact purpose of the meeting topic, it specifically requested that his niece Kychilion join the call as an expert advisor.
“Uncle Zah!” The bright, cheerful, and mostly fur-less face of Zahili’s favorite niece suddenly appeared on a holographic screen in front of the Jytvahr Master-General’s desk. “When are you coming home to visit?”
“Little Ky! I’m glad you called in early!” Zahili replied with the same vigor Kychilion displayed. Though he wasn’t the type to dye his fur even to hide the slowly emerging gray, seeing the rainbow of colors surrounding his niece’s face always made him smile and laugh. “And you do know you can always come visit me here at Central.”
“With all the grumpy, uptight military people?” Kychilion playfully scoffed despite the trickle of fond childhood memories running through guarded hallways and playing with other youngsters from countless other species. “Maybe after I get a good job at a respectable institution so you can brag about me to all your work friends.”
“Speaking of a good job…” That was all Zahili needed to say to elicit the suspicious look from his niece that she always gave when she knew a recent present had been anonymously sent by him.
“You didn’t…”
“I merely called to see if Professor River was aware of your accomplishments.”
“So you did!”
“Sweetheart, you were already on the man’s shortlist of professor candidates.” Zahili waved off Kychilion’s minor outrage in a manner that seemed believably honest. “And if you have already reviewed that confidential data packet I sent over a week ago, you have an idea as to why.”
“Wait, hold on!” The young Jytvahr woman’s expression changed as she opened the files which she assumed to be some kind of highly detailed fiction. “Are you telling me all of this is real?!?”
“Yes. It’s all completely verified and will be made public in about four weeks.” Zahili’s smirk only grew more intense as he watched Kychilion’s amber eyes grow wide. “It would seem as if all of the closest biological relatives to newly-Ascended human species are sapient. Those…” The older orange-furred primate man paused for a moment to ensure he would get the next word right. “Or-ang-u-tans are essentially smaller, lesser-developed versions of ourselves.”
“All of their closest relatives?” Kychilion suddenly locked eyes with the image of her uncle on the screen in her room back on Jytvahr homeworld. “How many distinct species are we talking about?”
“Either eight or four depending on how you would define distinct species. There are humans, obviously, and what they refer to as the pan, gorilla, and pongo categories. The report I read shows two types of pan, chimpanzees and bonobos, the eastern and western gorillas, and three forms of the species that bear a striking resemblance to us.”
“Even having four sapient species on a single planet is…” The young bio-ethnographer now looked as if she were in a state of genuine shock with her mouth hanging open and her eyes scouring over the material she had barely skimmed previously. “This is… Unprecedented…”
“There are also three sapient species we would recognize as proboscidea, several types of avians that are either sapient or very close to it, and at least a dozen more aquatic animals, including mammals similar to our Chuvompti, that are either sapient or very close to it. And yes, Military Command is aware of just how unprecedented this is. Which is why we’re trying to tread lightly. We don’t want civilian-scientists flocking to a Class 18 Deathworld before humans have a chance to prepare themselves. They don’t even have an interspecies visa system ready yet.”
“Uncle Zah…” The smallest shimmer of a tear became visible in the corners of Kychilion’s eyes. “This is the kind of thing bio-ethnographers dream about! I would ask so many questions to these orangutans if I ever had the opportunity.”
“Well, you may not have much time for questions but-”
“No!” If the young Jytvahr women didn’t already have a wild look of befuddlement before, her flabbers had now been completely gasted. “Don’t tell me that’s what your invite meant when it said expert advisor!”
“I don’t have explicit confirmation but assume so.”
“What about first contact protocols? Non-Ascended Sapient Species Non-Interference Act and-?”
“Humans, a now fully-Ascended species, have been in more or less constant contact with the other forms of sapience on their homeworld for thousands of years. All of those laws and standards have exceptions for this very situation.” Zahili watched as his niece began to comprehend the rather particular situation unfolding on Earth. “That being said, considering humanity’s intent to join the GCC and comply with our laws and standards, they want to work with experts to protect, but not place limits on, the various sapient species they share their homeworld with.”
“Alright, Uncle Zah.” After taking a deep breath and recentering herself, Ky quickly grabbed her tablet and began taking notes in a way that ensured her diligence would be recorded on the video feed. “Just to recap… Uh… The human homeworld of…”
“Earth.”
“The human homeworld of Earth is also home to several other distinct forms of sapient life… I assume there must be some degree of historical conflicts and thus the need for expert assistance… Possibly zoos…?”
“I don’t want to assume.” Zahili hesitantly replied.
“It’s a fair assumption, though.” Kychilion countered with an unbothered tone. “I’m sure everyone has accidentally kept a sapient or near-sapient species in a zoo before. It happens.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to come across as accusatory towards a Deathworld species that will likely soon rival the Qui’ztars in terms of military capabilities.” Zahili understood and greatly appreciated his niece’s genius but also understood she was never very interested in galactic politicking. “So let’s assume that humans either already are adhering to galactic laws and standards regarding zoos or will be soon. And as far as historical conflicts, we should work under the assumption that humans are striving in good faith to right any past wrongs.”
“Of course, of course.” Kychilion scribbled down a few more lines of notes, took another deep breath, and forced a professionally stoic expression onto her face. “I’ll do my best with the limited information I have. How long until-?”
“Right now.” A loud notification sound chimed from both of their terminals. After a quick nod of mutual preparedness, Master-General Grand Councilman Zahili Chiktarv accepted the new comms request. In front of him now sat a hologram of his niece against a blank background and one which showed Fleet Admiral Atxika of the First of the Third and Professor Mikhail T River sitting in an opulent passenger shuttle. “Greetings, Fleet Admiral Atxika and Mik, if I remember correctly! I am glad to see you both in good health. This is my niece Kychilion Chiktarv, Doctor of Bio-Ethnography. We are both quite interested as to why you requested this urgent meeting.”
“In that case, let’s skip all the formalities, Zahili.” Atxika actually gave a genuine smile as she spoke, something Zah was unfamiliar with. “There’s someone I want you both to meet. Please come sit here next to me, Morning Dew.”
From the perspective of the orange-furred young man who stepped into frame for both Zahili and Kychilion to see, he was simply excited to be included with some…
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1odgxi9/the_gardens_of_deathworlders_part_146/
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